Doctor Where?

JonnDoctor Where?Image courtesy of suburbanslice under a creative commons licence Image courtesy of suburbanslice under a creative commons licence

Image courtesy of suburbanslice under a creative commons licence

Oh dear. What is it about our fair city that medical professionals find so offputting, we wonder? Figures out from the NHS today show that London has more trouble staffing its hospitals than anywhere else in England.

More than 12 percent of posts for A&E doctors in London have stood empty for three months or more, compared to just 4.5 percent nationally. Admittedly, that's only 20 casualty doctors we're missing; but since we're only short of 38 nationally, that figure's not as comforting as it sounds. All in all, London is searching for 639 more doctors and 2833 more nurses.

We should stress that this doesn't mean that London's health service is in anyway unsafe. Indeed, it may mean our hospitals were over-staffed, or even that they're leading the way towards slashing their way through the bloated NHS budget. But would you bet your life on it?